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Adobe's Flash plugin for Google Android is supposed to give Android-based tablets, like Samsung's new Galaxy Tab, a leg up on Apple's iPad, which does not support Flash.

The argument is that Flash support gives people fuller access to more of the web -- particularly Flash video and animation -- that just isn't available on the iPad.

But so far, Flash has been one of the weakest, most embarrassing spots for the Galaxy Tab, severely depleting the device's performance, according to the reviews we've read. (We don't have a Galaxy Tab, so we weren't able to verify this ourselves.)

And it suggests that Adobe, Google, and their hardware partners either need to fix this fast -- and make Flash really fly on mobile tablets -- or get out of the way.

Because when it comes to user experience, a crappy version of Flash is not better than no Flash at all.

"Because the Galaxy runs Android 2.2, it can also play Flash videos online (touché, iPad!). Or at least it’s supposed to. After some delay, I got Flash movie trailers and CNet videos to play, but at ESPN.com, the Play Video button just stared at me sullenly. (My Samsung rep says they play fine for him.)"

"I tested several Adobe Flash videos and websites written in Flash. Sometimes they played and sometimes they didn’t. In all cases, they slowed the browser down. On one site written in Flash, I got a warning saying I might want to 'abort' lest the computer become 'unresponsive.' In another case, the Tab crashed. So I conclude that while the Tab does play Flash, it needs work on that score."